Chance The Rapper Discusses Chicago Violence & Eminem’s Teachings

Chance The Rapper says Eminem taught him about showmanship and musicianship.

Chance The Rapper, a runner-up for HipHopDX’s “Rapper of the Year” award and the winner of its “Rising Star of the Year” award, recently spoke about what Eminem is like after spending some time observing the Shady Records boss on tour.

“He’s a huge influence,” Chance The Rapper said during an interview with Arsenio. “He’s super-smart. He’s very meticulous. He does work all the time. That’s all he does is work.”

Chance, who released Acid Rap earlier this year, also discussed what he’s learned from watching Eminem on tour.

“[I learned] showmanship, musicianship,” Chance said. “[Eminem’s live] show is crazy. His show is super-dope.”

Chance The Rapper Discusses Chicago’s Crime Rate
During the interview, Chance also spoke about Chicago and reports regarding violence in the city.

“I’m really hoping that the gun-related death-toll continues to lower,” he said. “If you didn’t hear, in 2013, we had a lower murder rate than we had in 2012…Everywhere where it’s going down, there’s a positivity that is starting to garner in Chicago, and I think we can keep it going. Stop worrying about cliques and gangs.”

Speaking about violence in the city, Chance also discussed the manner in which outsiders view Chicago.

“People can only really see it from the outside and don’t feel like they relate to,” Chance added. “It’s kind of the same thing with [Hurricane] Katrina. I don’t want to say that they’re the same thing exactly, but it’s a great metaphor for a bunch of Black people struggling and everybody romanticizing it and making music about it. We’ve got a couple of news reports about it, but nobody’s really, as far as outside help, really helping us. It’s coming together though. I can appreciate how Chicago’s been in 2013. But I want it to keep moving.”

MSNBC recently published a report on the decline of gun violence and murder in Chicago.

“As of November 25, the city had recorded 377 murders, a 20 percent decline from the 472 that occurred last year by this time,” MSNBC said in its report. “It’s the fewest to date of any year since 1965, according to Chicago police. The total number of shootings and shooting victims is also dramatically down. There have been 692 fewer shooting victims, 2,148 this year compared to 2,840 during the same time period in 2012. And shootings are down by 562, from 2,261 to 1,699.”